page_title: Mallee (biogeographic region)
section_title: Vegetation
hierarchical_section_title: Mallee (biogeographic region) / Vegetation
caption_attribution_description: Lake Johnston looking from on the lake across salt bush towards the malle scrub - Western Australia.
context_page_description: Mallee, also known as Roe Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia. Located between the Esperance Plains, Avon Wheatbelt and Coolgardie regions, it has a low, gently undulating topography, a semi-arid mediterranean climate, and extensive Eucalyptus mallee vegetation. About half of the region has been cleared for intensive agriculture. Recognised as a region under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, it was first defined by John Stanley Beard in 1980.
context_section_description: The region's vegetation is predominantly Eucalyptus mallee over myrtaceous and proteaceous heath. Over 50% of the area is vegetated entirely by mallee, and a further 25% is mainly mallee but with patches of woodland; the latter vegetation occurs mainly on the calcareous soils to the east. The mallee consists of numerous Eucalyptus species, the most consistent being E. eremophila (Tall Sand Mallee). Seasonally wet and alluvial areas are vegetated by Melaleuca shrublands where fresh, and Tecticornia low shrublands where saline. There are also occasional thickets of Allocasuarina, especially on greenstone hills.
  As of 2007, the Mallee region is known to contain 3443 indigenous vascular plant species, and a further 239 naturalised alien species. As with other regions in semi-arid areas of the South West, it exhibits high endemism, especially with respect to Eucalyptus and Acacia species. The endangered flora of the Mallee region consists of 55 species, with a further 325 species having been declared Priority Flora under the Department of Environment and Conservation's Declared Rare and Priority Flora List.
  Species richness ranges from 17 to 48 species per 1000 m². The lowest species richness occurs in severe habitats such as alongside salt lakes, but also in the areas of highest soil nutrition, where dominant species suppress associated species. Conversely, the highest species richness occurs in soils with the lowest soil nutrition. Most species are killed by fire and regenerate from seed, suggesting that they have evolved in an environment in which fire is infrequent.
caption: Tecticornia low shrublands bordering Lake Johnston, with Eucalyptus mallee on the horizon
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